Remember playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? That game where you try to connect any actor to Kevin Bacon through their movie roles? Your personal knowledge can work the same way, with ideas connecting to other ideas in fascinating chains of discovery. Let’s explore how to capture and organize these connections in ways that make… Read More »The art of connected note-taking and knowledge trails
Back when I was a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed undergrad, my idea of “reading a scientific paper” involved printing out a hard copy, grabbing a highlighter, and scribbling all over the pages as I read it from start to finish. I’d get sidetracked by unfamiliar terms, bogged down in the background, and glazed over by the graphs.… Read More »How to read scientific papers faster with the Reverse CIA Method
Remember the satisfying scratch of pen on paper? That tactile sensation may be the secret to reaching your intellectual potential. In our digital age, it’s easy to dismiss analogue tools as relics of the past. We’ve been conditioned to believe that faster is always better – that tapping away on a laptop is the pinnacle… Read More »The analogue revolution: Why handwritten notes are making a comeback
The medieval peasant has been down on his luck lately. The weather has been particularly unforgiving, with scorching heat and drought withering the crops in the fields. As he toils under the relentless sun, his hands blistered and his back aching, he yearns for a glimmer of hope in his bleak existence. One day, a… Read More »The knowledge worker
When the aspiring writer Arnold Samuelson hitch-hiked his way to meet Ernest Hemingway in 1934, he received more than just a moment with his literary hero. Samuelson stayed with Hemingway for a year, learning about writing and life from the famed author. Among the many insights Hemingway shared was a simple yet powerful strategy for… Read More »The Hemingway effect for when to stop writing
Sick of information overload? Drowning in digital notes? Meet your new productivity hero: The Fanny Pack! This tourist staple is a minimalist’s dream tool and its tiny size is a superpower. By limiting what you can carry to a micro notebook and a few cards, it acts as a built-in bullshit filter. Suddenly, only truly… Read More »The Fanny Pack: A surprisingly powerful productivity companion
I used to think writing was only for “real writers.” You know, the tormented geniuses who bleed brilliance at the typewriter, churning out masterpieces in inspired late-night frenzies. Not mere mortals like me who can barely keep a journal. But then I discovered the secret weapon of the world’s most prolific writers and creatives: the… Read More »The daily prompt writing exercise
Want to get better at anything faster? What if you could easily hack your brain to pick up new skills? You might think it takes natural talent or genius to master a craft, but the truth is that anyone can learn anything with the right approach. In “Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery“,… Read More »Get Better at Anything by Scott H. Young (Summary)
From fleeting thoughts to powerful concepts Your mind brims with incredible ideas all day long. Flashes of inspiration strike when you least expect it – in the shower, on your commute, during a workout. But as quickly as those ideas come, they can vanish into thin air, never to be seen again. That’s where note-taking… Read More »Never lose your brilliant idea again: How to build a robust note-taking system
The power of 3 What do a captivating story, a memorable speech, and an engaging lesson have in common? More often than not, they rely on the potent yet understated Rule of 3. This ancient principle suggests that ideas presented in threes strike a perfect balance – substantial enough to form a pattern yet not… Read More »Use the rule of 3 for effective learning and communication